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Slender Aster

Eurybia compacta

Found in pine savannas, hardpan woodlands, clearings. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

70
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 2 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 28 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Eurybia

  • Phyciodes cocytaNorthern Crescent, Crescentspot
  • Platypolia ancepsGray-Dusted Sallow
  • Schinia septentrionalisNorthern Flower Moth
  • Astrotischeria astericola
  • Herpetogramma aquilonalis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
54BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Aster

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
27Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Eurybia

  • Andrena asteris
  • Andrena braccata
  • Andrena canadensis
  • Andrena chromotricha
  • Andrena fulvipennis
  • Andrena hirticincta
  • Andrena nubecula
  • Andrena placata
  • Andrena simplex
  • Ashmeadiella bucconis
Show all 27
  • Colletes americanus
  • Colletes compactus
  • Colletes speculiferus
  • Dianthidium curvatum
  • Melissodes denticulatus
  • Melissodes dentiventris
  • Melissodes druriellus
  • Melissodes illatus
  • Melissodes niveus
  • Melissodes subillatus
  • Melissodes trinodis
  • Melissodes wheeleri
  • Paranthidium jugatorium
  • Perdita octomaculata
  • Protandrena andrenoides
  • Protandrena citripes
  • Protandrena compositarum
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Aster

  • Alectoris chukarChukar
  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Flower color
Pink, yellow, blue or purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “Late July to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Pink, yellow, blue or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Height · “Up to about 2 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Aster gracilis; aster

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG4G5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources